Lovely Duet
by Kroissant
Summary: In which poor Felix gets pressured by his wife to sing a duet with her for their unborn child.


**Hello, Kroissant here!**  
**First, I would like to apologize for not being able to update lately. I've been extremely active on ao3 that I nearly forgot to post the same stories here!**  
**So to make it up to you all here's fanfic that suddenly came into mind.**

**As of right now, I'm currently on the hype train for fire emblem three houses!**  
**It started while I was searching for more Annette/Felix pictures for inspiration, and I stumbled across Japanese twitter where it was blowing up tons of pictures about our favorite pair! Amid this chaos, there came a picture and I was just…floored.**  
**And thus, this short drabble came into existence!**  
**If any of you would like to see this wonderful picture, look no further than on Twitter and type in the words, 'フェリアネ' (Annette/Felix shipping name) and scroll all the way down—there, you will find my greatest inspiration for this short fanfic!**

**That's all for now!**  
**Thank you so much!**  
**Enjoy reading!**

* * *

Sweat drops rolled from his temple to his sharp chin.

His small ponytail swung violently, with a few strands of his dark locks somewhat glued to his slightly red, perspiring face. Panting heavily, Felix clicked his tongue.

He was at his limit and yet, he was determined to continue with his pursuit.

"Out of my way!" He exclaimed loudly, "Coming through!" And zoomed past the patrolling knights, nearly colliding with some of the elderly servants along the way, and after briefly pausing to apologize, continued his way through the narrow, crowded halls of the first floor.

He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, which dangled harshly on the side of his left thigh, as he was close to exploding any minute now. "Dammit," He uttered lowly under his breath, quickening his pace and after hastily making a right turn, marched forward with all his might.

He had only been gone for three hours—paying a quick visit to House Gautier to present his old friend with the weekly reports and updates of the incoming bandit raids soon to occur in the next moon.

Upon arriving home, the young Lord was welcomed with a chaotic mess…and his wife missing.

According to one of the housemaids, the woman in question wished to have a moment to herself and was adamant with her refusal for any person to company her. Many accounts by some of the knights, guards, kitchen staff, and even the children were the same—each and every single one of them were itching to lend a hand out to the Lady of the House, insisting they couldn't possibly allow her to be on her own…but of course, his darling wife, ever the stubborn woman that she was, politely turned them down in the process, assuring them for the umpteenth time that nothing was going to happen to her…

At first, all seemed well.

And as she had left to tend to her own duties…it suddenly struck the house staff that she had forgotten to tell them where exactly she was going, and what she was up to.

Thus, resulted in where they were now and the current state of House Fraldarius being up in flames—with the entire staff, along with their young Lord searching high and low for the missing woman, from the dungeons to the watchtower, and for those who were willing to test their bravery and possibly risk their lives, venture off to one of the nearby hamlets and villages and question the citizens if they had seen or met anyone who came from Fraldarius territory.

An hour or so had gone and still, no progress.

Felix paused to take a breather, his face burning red and completely out of breath from sprinting ceaselessly. Shaping his right hand into a clenched white fist, he twisted his heel and punched the wall closest to him.

Collecting his breath, he sighed heavily, his eyes downcast. "I'm such an idiot…"

Sadly, it wasn't far from the truth.

If he hadn't left her side, maybe she wouldn't have gone to wherever it was she needed to go. If he had stayed behind and allowed for someone else to take his place to deliver the report to Sylvain, then all of this wouldn't have happened…

Then again, he knew how capable his wife was.

There were only a few exceptional people in the entire kingdom of Faerghus whom he greatly admired and there was no doubt that she was one of them on his list. When he married her, he had no regrets, and for the first time in a long time, found peace.

She was his and he was hers, as evident by the silver band she always wore on her ring finger—the same ring bestowed to him by his late father, Rodrigue, a week before his untimely death.

No, none of that mattered.

No matter how strong, resilient or daring his wife was, deep down, Felix would always have the underlying fear of losing her and also, their future. And if god forbid, something grave had indeed happened, he would never forgive himself.

Dropping his arm to his side, Felix allowed himself to lean back against the wall to release an exasperated sigh. As he closed his eyes, he tried to recall the last memory he had of her—donning a large, light blue nightgown with a large ribbon on her collar, with her short, and wavy bright marmalade locks flowing evenly down her thin shoulders, her arms folded over her chest as she wore a neutral look etched on her face, with her perfect, round eyes gradually losing its natural, upbeat glow. She was disappointed in him and too focused on his own responsibilities, was blind to see it.

Felix pushed the noises around him, blocking them away to give in to the looming silence of defeat.

And as he was ready to surrender, he heard it.

Her voice.

Alarmed, Felix reopened his eyes and began whirling his head around.

She wasn't here.

Again, he heard it…but where was it coming from—

Eyes widening, he quickly retreated his footsteps. Fixing his sights on the wall he had previously leaned on; he narrowed his eyes. Inspecting the many stone patterns carved the walls, it wasn't long until he found a large, irregular crack between the large gray and white ones. Curious, he slowly reached out to touch them and to his surprise, his hand had slipped in.

Looking around, he found that the halls were eerily empty, though the distant noises from nearby gave him a strong idea that the knights, guards, and the servants were still bustling around, searching for the missing Lady of the House.

Facing the wall once more, Felix braced himself, taking in a deep breath as he forcibly squeezed his body through.

* * *

He was alone in the dark.

On high-alert, the swordsman checked his surroundings, his hand already on the hilt of his sword to unsheathe. After navigating himself around for a good minute, he realized that he had stumbled across a secret passageway. As he cautiously ambled through, his ears picked up the sound of singing again. His mouth slightly parted.

That meant only one thing.

"Annette…"

Without thinking, Felix dashed ahead, gathering all the strength he possibly could to reach the end of the passageway, where he supposedly concluded that that was where the voice was coming from.

The second he entered through the exit, he stumbled into yet another clearing.

With the sudden exposure of light on him, it forced the swordsman to blink his eyes a few times. Once he managed to adjust, he reopened his eyes and once more, looked around.

The patching of lush green, the plentiful of flowers, the towering trees overhead, and the subtle chirping of birds made him blink twice. Here he was, standing in what appears to be a stunning replication of his family's outdoor courtyard, with the outpouring of sunlight gracing his features.

But none of that mattered to him.

After an exhausting two hours, Felix had finally found her—sitting under the embrace of the large willow tree, singing away to her heart's content.

Removing his hand from the hilt of his sword, Felix took his first few steps, never once tearing away his eyes off her. The closer he got to her, the louder he could hear his heart beating fiercely against his chest. Even after all these years, she still had an effect on him.

Once Felix found himself standing mere inches away from her, a small smile materialized across his thin lips. He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes softening as he focused only on her—who remained completely oblivious to the latter's presence behind her.

Judging from the quill she was constantly tapping on the spine of her notebook, it appears she was experimenting with yet another one of her silly songs. Determined not to pass up such an opportunity, Felix did his best to stand still, subtly hiding in the shadows, all to bear witness of his wife's creative mind weaving another noteworthy composition.

And as she sang—so brightly, and full of life, Felix couldn't help but lengthen his smile a bit wider, and without realizing, was slightly bobbing his head and humming along to the new tune.

Suddenly, she came to a halt.

Confused by this, Felix veered down with his left eyebrow quirked up…only to be rewarded with his wife glaring daggers at him.

The instant they locked eyes, everything turned momentarily still.

When Felix opened his mouth to speak, Annette was quick to rise from the ground, though had nearly stumbled over when she had tripped on her own footing.

Panicked, Felix rushed in to aid her.

Luckily, he was close enough to rescue her from her fall, though wasn't quick enough to catch her notebook and quill which unfortunately dropped to the ground.

Relishing the warmth of his wife, Felix heaved a sigh of relief. Ever so slowly, he pulled her closer to his chest, though not too much to allow her some space to breathe. "Don't you dare scare me like that again," He said softly to her, snaking his other arm around her waist as he tightened his hold on her. Placing the tip of his nose on her forehead, he inhaled her natural cinnamon scent and exhaled. "You hear me?"

Hearing this, all Annette could do was roll her eyes. "I appreciate the concern but I'm fine, really," She replied back, followed by a snort. And as she broke away from his embrace, brought a hand over to her large pregnancy bump and added, "We both are," Dusting off a few blades of grass that got stuck on her bottom, Annette cleared her throat and looked up to face him. "Anyway, why are you here?"

"I should be saying the same thing to you," He retorted back.

Annette grunted. "Look, I wanted some space to myself," She began to explain, "I was brainstorming so many ideas for new songs, but the entire estate was full of noise! And then one day, I happened to stumble upon this wonderful place!" As she delivered those words, she raised her arms high and started twirling around. "I've been visiting this place for almost two weeks now, and it's been giving me so many inspirations!"

"You could've at least told someone where you were going…" He muttered, massaging his temple.

Annette blinked, tipping her head to the side as she pursed her lips. "But I did, didn't I?"

"No, you did not,"

Processing his words, her eyes widened. "Wait, seriously?"

"Why do you think I'm here in the first place?" He grumbled, shaking his head in dismay. "Come on, let's go back," Turning away, he pressed forward, but his ears didn't catch her footsteps behind. Pausing midway, he looked over his shoulder. She didn't move an inch. "Annette?"

"No, I'm not leaving,"

Felix narrowed his eyes. "You do realize that you caused a massive wave of panic among the people," He points out, jerking his chin over to the hidden passage behind him. "If we don't get back, who knows what might happen to our home,"

Annette frowned, "Can't I just stay here a bit longer?" She pleaded and as she refocused her sight back to her husband, offered him a sweet smile. "I mean, this place is wonderful! Hidden in plain sight!" She rambled on, chirpy as ever. "I always thought it was some sort of family secret that the Fraldarius have, but from the look on your face, this must be the first time you've been here, huh?"

Leaning her head and batting her eyelashes innocently, she added in a hushed whisper, "And…well, now that you're here, maybe we could finally get some time alone, don't you think?"

When she caught sight of his flustered look, Annette emitted a burst of laughter. "I'm kidding!" She assured him, to which the latter rolled his eyes and proceeded to cover his face with his hand.

With a wistful smile, Annette casually walked up to him, and with her arms stretched out, went on to intertwine their fingers together, "Now that you're here," She began, blushing a little, "We'll just have to make this our little secret," She veered down to her belly, and taking a deep breath, shyly looked up. "And when our little bundle of joy grows up…then this place will be their playground,"

At the mention of their future child, Felix grew warm. He shifted his attention over to his wife's pregnancy bump.

That's right—in a few more weeks, he was going to be a father.

Never in his wildest dreams would he expect himself to be where he was now—taking on the mantle as the new Duke of Fraldarius; and married happily with none other than the woman whom he first viewed during their school days to be oddly complicated and unpredictable. Committing to someone like Annette was a pleasant surprise, and a breath of fresh air for him and the population residing in his family territory…and now, this happened.

A child.

Boy or girl, it didn't matter…though secretly, he always wanted to have a daughter. It was strange to think about, but after ruminating through his thoughts, the idea of it was even better. For many centuries, the firstborn of House Fraldarius were predominately males—which in a way, greatly contributed to the sustainability of their noble blood.

On record, having a daughter was a rare occurrence, and there were times when his late father, Rodrigue, would fantasize of possibly having a third child being female, only for those dreams to crush when his mother was bedridden with sickness.

Chances for conceiving a girl was of low probability, and yet, Felix grew hopeful by the day.

If they were ever blessed with a girl, no matter what name they would bestow on her, the swordsman was definitely hoping for her to inherit his wife's natural beauty and excessive energy…then again, the likelihood for that to happen was fifty-fifty.

As if she had read his mind, Annette gently set his hand over to her pregnancy bump and smiled earnestly. When nothing came of it, she pouted. "That's strange. They were kicking quite a while ago…"

Felix shrugged his shoulders, though it bothered him a little that he couldn't seem to get a reaction from their child. As he gently released his hand away from hers, he crouched to his knees to retrieve the notebook and quill. "Probably not the best time right now," He replied, handing her the items. "Who knows? They could be sleeping,"

Annette deepened her frown. When she took hold of her notebook, suddenly an idea struck her. With a bright smile and twinkling eyes, she looked back up to her husband and cried, "Say, how about you sing a song?"

Felix blinked his eyes. "What?"

"Come on, I know you can do it!" Annette insisted, unable to contain her excitement as she giggled away. "It'll be fun!"

"…No,"

Annette pouted. "Why not?"

"I don't sing," He said simply.

"Yes, you can!" She persisted, "Everybody can sing if they can at least try!"

Felix put a hand on his hip as he raised a questionable eyebrow. "Even if they're terrible at it?"

Annette glared. "Felix!" She exclaimed and proceeded to punch him lightly on his shoulder, to which he snickered lightly.

"Fine, I'll try…" He conceded, sighing. "But under one condition,"

"And that is?"

Felix smirked. "You need to sing with me,"

He watched in amusement as his wife flushed beet red, with the lower portion of her heated face already covered by her notebook in embarrassment. From her fidgeting fingers, her darting eyes, to her constant refusals to participate…despite how old she was, she always seemed to revert back to her younger self, bashful and self-conscious of peoples' opinions on her and her singing.

…And in an unexpected twist, this part of her was exactly the reason as to why Felix fell for her in the first place. Though it was partially true that her singing was what captivated him, as he learned to get to know more of her overtime, Felix found himself unable to get enough of her…or in his own definition, one of the few tolerable people he knew.

"Please tell me you're kidding…"

"Do I look like the type to joke around?" Felix points out with a flat tone.

And when she still refused, he shrugged.

"Well, if you're not going to sing, guess I won't either,"

Silence.

"…Fine, I'm in,"

There we go.

"But you'll have to sing the songs that I choose," Annette countered quickly, getting the upper-hand. "No ifs, ands, or buts!"

Registering her words, Felix clicked his tongue. Hanging his head in defeat, he groaned. "Fine, I give," He admitted, crossing his arms. "So, what do you have in mind?" And as he dared to sneak a glance at his scheming wife, he already knew that it was too late as she had already had him tied around her finger.

Whatever she had in mind; he would have no choice but to take part in.

"I just hope you know what you're doing,"

"Oh, I do," Annette assured him, grinning brightly as she opened her notebook and started turning a few pages, giggling every now and then. "Just give me a second to choose, okay?"

And as she continued with her search to find the perfect song for the two of them to sing, she failed to see her husband directing his focus on the obvious pregnancy bump of his wife, and though the brave front plastered on his face was there, inside, he was struggling to keep it together.

He enjoyed listening to his wife's singing…in fact, it became one of his favorite pastimes whenever he wasn't in the mood for training or drowning himself in meetings. But the thought of him singing—especially to their unborn child irked him.

Yet, Annette was persistent for him to do so.

"It better be worth it," He murmured, raking the strands of his hair as he looked elsewhere.

* * *

After waiting for almost five minutes, Annette was ready.

With a smile and a spring to her step, she made her way over to her waiting husband, with her notebook opened to a certain page of the song she deliberately chose for them to sing together.

"I'll start here," She began, pointing a finger to the first stanza, "And you start there,"

Felix nodded firmly, and as he took a moment to drink in his assigned lines, he frowned. "Wait, I never heard this before," He brought up, and as he looked up to face his wife, he was met with her smile. "Can we sing a different one?"

When she shook her head in retort, Felix groaned. "How do you expect me to follow after if I don't know what the tune is supposed to be?"

"That's the good part," Annette replied, ever the optimist. "See, whenever I compose a song, I don't think of the words at all. I would close my eyes, take a deep breath and…" To give him a demonstration, she did exactly what she said, and in a matter of seconds, she opened her mouth to release a beautiful chant. With her eyes still closed, she proceeded to lift up her hands, and with one of her index fingers drawn out, started to slightly sway her hips, keeping up with the consistent rhythm she just made up.

Felix watched her, awestruck.

Once she finished singing, Annette fluttered her eyes wide open and flashed her husband a bright smile. Again, she reached out to seize his hands, placing one of them on her pregnancy bump.

Felix held his breath. "What if I mess up?" He asked, his voice veiled with concern, "What if I've forgotten the words?"

"You won't," She answered, squeezing his other hand, "If you can remember all of the fifty songs I've sung and my little dances, I'm certain you can remember this one as well," She emitted a light giggle. "And even if you do make a mistake, nobody would know except for the three of us, right?"

She does have a point. Inhaling a deep breath, Felix nodded. "Fine, I give…"

Annette grinned, nodding along in agreement. Lowering his chin, she grazed her hand over the surface of her growing bump and said softly, "Are you ready to hear Mama and Papa sing?"

No response.

Well, no matter.

She slightly craned her head to face her husband who looked back at her with a soft gaze, a light dust of crimson spreading across his cheeks for having to witness such an endearing moment between his wife and unborn child. Nevertheless, Annette smiled back warmly. Bringing her hand close to her chest, Annette closed her eyes shut.

"**Tiny, little bean~ Growing inside of me~**" She sang merrily, "**Can't wait to see you bloom into a big, big tree~ Lots of things to do, many more to see~ Just a few more weeks and you'll finally see me,**" Without breaking the flow of her chant, Annette stroked her thumb over her husband's palm, giving him the signal that it was his turn.

Felix hesitated, growing flustered as he suddenly found himself in the spotlight. He eyed the lyrics written on the notebook a few times and clearing his throat, did his best to match his wife's established pace, "**The world is big and scary…and you, a little bean…**" He intoned, cringing slightly for sounding like an idiot. He tried to connect his words and make them flow, but it was already failing him. "**Too small, too frail, can't go up the scale…"**

"**But fear not**!" Annette chimed in, startling the latter. "**For the sun and rain is here~ They'll shower you with love and joy, and everyone will cheer!"**

Listening to the upbeat cries of his wife caused Felix to pause for a few brief seconds, his cheeks burning crimson. She was so adorable. As he observed her funny, little dance, he had nearly forgotten that it was his turn to sing along. Something lightly tapped him on his hand again, and he knew that she was waiting for him to continue.

Without bothering to check on the lyrics, Felix was forced to make up his own. He set his sights on the pregnancy bump, and at the thought of their unborn child, words began to form inside his head. Growing sentimental, he mustered a small smile and in a hushed tone, said in a careless whisper, "**There will be times of laughter…and times of sad and gloom…but little bean, don't worry…we'll make the world a better place…just for you**,"

Annette shot her eyes wide open, unable to comprehend the blossoming warmth inside her stomach. Blinking, she curiously peered at her husband, who was quick to avert his attention elsewhere, refusing to look at her in the eye.

Even so, she grinned. Dipping her chin, Annette rubbed her belly and sang. With her husband changing the course of the song, she thought it'd be best to follow in his steps, disregarding her original lyrics to make up her own, "**Mama and Papa will be here~ Excited as can be~ Can't wait to see their little bean~ Their little bean sprout that would one day grow into a tree**~"

Finishing the song by repeating her last line one more time, with her hand still interlocking together with her husband's, proceeded to raise them above her head and shouted, "Yeah!"

Once the excitement died down, the pair remained quiet, with Annette eagerly ecstatic to hear the outcome of their efforts.

And then it happened.

With widened eyes, Annette looked up to face Felix. "D-did you felt that?" She murmured, and when she received a firm nod from her husband, they refocused their sights on the growing bump where they placed their hands on. A few seconds later, there was another kick.

"They did it!" Annette cried, squealing with delight. "They kicked again!"

Felix, on the other hand, was at a loss for words. The frustration and worry he had undergone to deliver a song for their unborn child, failing to capture the right words and the right tempo…had vanished in an instant.

The tiny flicker of life inside the belly of his wife, their future…it was alive, well, and kicking.

And that was more than enough for him to produce a genuine smile.

All of a sudden, he found himself getting tackled by his wife, who showered him with an abundance of kisses—from the tip of his nose, his forehead, his crimson cheeks, to his thin lips. His confusion-struck face eventually waned, and as he was ready to reciprocate back, she withdrew, leaving him unsatisfied and unfulfilled.

Felix blinked his eyes immaculately, with his entire face still in heat. Raking his hand through his hair, he eyed his wife, who was already hard at work on meticulously jotting down the brand-new lyrics to which the two of them had come up with on the spot inside her notebook, with a few mutterings here and there as she tried hard to reconnect them based off her memory alone.

Too consumed with her thoughts, she failed to notice the swordsman stealthily approach her, and ever so carefully, snaked his arms around her torso.

Annette squeaked, taken aback by the sudden touch…though as she peered over her shoulder to meet a familiar face, she breathed out a sigh of relief, loosening her tense shoulders and in with a sweet smile adorning her features, leaned her head back against the crook of his neck and scribbled away.

In response, Felix tipped his head against hers, mustering another small smile as he breathed her in. He tightened his hold around her, though made sure not to exert too much in fear that he might harm their little one.

"See, what did I tell you?" Annette began, poking his red left cheek with the feathery tip of her quill. "Just like honing your swordsmanship, the more you practice, you'll get a hang of it,"

Felix snorted, "Says the one who's leagues away from an amateur like me…" A pause. "…Annette?"

"Hmm?"

Turning her head to face him, Annette allowed a goofy smile to materialize across her lips. Her eyes locked with his, she noticed the hidden glimmer inside them, then went on to keenly observe the facial expression he currently wore—a rare sight of nervousness and delicate sweetness…he was yearning for something, almost giving her a childish pout and was relying on her to make it come true.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"What's wrong?"

She could tell, from the way how his eyebrows were pitched together and how he would constantly attempt to pry his mouth open, he struggled to make the words come out of him.

And when he finally delivered it, she found herself incapable of breathing.

"…Can we sing again?" Felix whispered softly in her ear, his fractured voice sending shivers down her spine. "Please, Annette?"

Annette stood there in place, nearly breaking the quill equipped in her hand. As much as she wanted to faint right then and there, she knew that she couldn't…not when she was already blessed with something important inside of her. And despite her new role of becoming a mother, she felt young again. She could feel another kick coming from her belly, and as she brought a hand over to her growing bump, flashed her husband another mischievous grin.

"You sure about that?" She teased, playing along, "I mean, our house could be burning by now,"

Felix sighed heavily, burying his face into her shoulder, a bit saddened.

Annette simply laughed—he was so cute!

Pursing her lips, she mulled the thought over.

"…Guess it wouldn't hurt to sing one more time," She added in, catching his attention. Releasing herself away from her husband, she brought her notebook close to her chest, and after making a quick twirl, smiled brightly and told him, "Okay, just this once and then we go back home," She reached out her hand for him to take. "Do we have a deal?"

Bewildered by this, Felix took a quick glimpse at his wife, then to her awaiting hand, and then finally, to her growing belly.

He cracked a small smile, quick to seize her hand with his, and shaking them. "…Deal,"

* * *

**End card: By the time Felix and Annette returned, their house was already burned in flames. THE END.**

**Anyway, thank you for reading my one-shot of Felix/Annette**  
**As for the made-up song I made exclusively for this fanfic, it was surprisingly easy to make up words for Annette as I was able to picture her singing...but then there was Felix, who I had so much trouble trying to make him sing. In the end, I made him sing terribly as if he was reciting a poem to her...hopefully, everything worked out well! (and quite honestly, I couldn't even make a straight face every time I tried to recite the songs out loud as I tend to actually pretend to be in the character's shoes in order to deliver a close to canon personality)**

**Now, just to point out what I mentioned in the beginning notes-the picture I was referring to was of Annette in her nightgown, with an obvious pregnant bump and had her ring on her finger, and she was singing with Felix behind her, his arm supporting her while he listens to her singing-that was the inspiration! If you can, try to find that picture! It's beautiful!**

**And also, I've been itching to write family fanfic for these two for a long while now (thanks to the immense inspiration of reading a few FByleth and Dimitri having children, I thought...why not?) That and there's my track record of writing family-related fics!**

**I could definitely picture these two having children together, and if they were to ever have a daughter as mentioned in the fanfic, I always imagined her to have 'Cozette' somewhere in her namesake (thanks, Les Mes)**

**Well, there you have it, folks.**  
**Thank you all for your patience and for your tremendous support for Steak and Cake! In due time, I would update the next chapter later this week so if you can, keep your eyes peeled for news on that!**

**That's all for now! Thank you so much!**  
**As always, have a wonderful day!**


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